346  Thymol  as  an  Antiseptic,  etc.,  {''""•^"Z'S^^^"' 
analysis  a  mixture  containing,  among  other  substances,  brucia  and 
nitrate  of  lead,  employed  the  process  of  Stas  and  Otto  for  the  separa- 
tion of  alkaloids,  and  found  strychnia  instead  of  brucia,  which  had  been 
oxidized  by  the  liberated  nitric  acid. 
If  strychnia  is  heated  with  a  strong  base,  like  potassa,  soda  or  baryta, 
for  some  time  in  a  sealed  glass  tube  placed  in  a  water-bath,  a  body  is 
obtained  which  does  no  longer  show  the  reactions  of  strychnia,  but 
resembles  brucia  in  its  reactions.  The  experiments  on  this  decomposi- 
tion, which  is  likewise  of  importance  in  forensic  analysis,  are  not  yet 
concluded. — Pharmac.  Centr,  Halle,  iSyS,  No.  21,  from  Viertelj.  f, 
gerichtl.  Med.  J.  M.  M. 
THYMOL  AS  AN  ANTISEPTIC  AND  ANTIFERMENTATIVE. 
Herr  S.  Lewin  has  lately  made  some  experiments  in  Prof.  Lieb- 
reich's  laboratory,  in  Berlin,  on  the  antiseptic  and  antifermentative 
properties  of  thymol. 
This  substance,  the  formula  of  which  is  C^oH^oO,  belongs  to  the 
benzol  group  ;  it  forms  white  crystals  of  a  highly  aromatic  odor.  A 
solution  of  one  part  in  i,ooo  of  hot  water  is  of  sufficient  strength  for 
all  purposes. 
Comparative  experiments  with  carbolic  and  salicylic  acids,  showed 
that  thymol  possessed  much  greater  power  than  either  of  these  acids  in 
arresting  fermentation  in  a  solution  of  sugar  after  the  addition  of  yeast. 
The  addition  of  thymol  to  milk  caused  coagulation  to  appear  twenty 
days  later  than  in  milk  to  which  a  similar  quantity  of  water  had  been 
added,  and  at  the  end  of  five  weeks  there  was  still  no  trace  of  vegeta- 
tion. While  filtered  egg  albumen  underwent  decomposition  in  three  or 
four  days  on  exposure  to  the  air,  albumen  to  which  thymol-water  had 
been  added,  did  not  present  the  slightest  sign  of  putrefaction  at  the  end 
of  eleven  weeks,  and  an  aromatic  odor  was  still  perceptible. 
Herr  Lewin  also  found  thymol  to  arrest  putrefactive  change  in  bony 
substances  for  five  weeks. 
GLEANINGS  FROM  THE  EUROPEAN  JOURNALS. 
BY  THE  EDITOR. 
Arsenious  Acid  in  Veterinary  Practice. — According  to  a  decree,  dated 
February  26th,  1875,  arsenious  acid,  intended  for  the  treatment  of  do- 
mestic animals,  must  hereafter,  in  France,  be  dispensed  only  after  having 
